Diphtheria is a bacteria, not a virus or disease, and is caused by the bacterium Cornynebacterium Diphtheriae. The bacteria produces a biotoxins and causes growth of a layer of leathery sheath like membrane on the tonsils, throat and nose and can cause swollen neck. This leathery growth and swelling can impede a persons ability to breath and cause strangulation. In the history of Diphtheria, it was known to kill many of it’s victims, perhaps as high as 10 to 20 percent, and at one point in history in the New England Colonies it was said to have killed 80% of the children under the age of 10. During the 1920’s there were some 200,000 cases with 15,000 deaths attributed to Diphtheria. It got its name from the Greek word for leather, Diphtheria. Besides the choking effect, the toxins produced by the bacterium can also cause heart failure or paralyze the breathing muscles.
The origin of Diphtheria seems to be linked to bad, dirty, and stagnant water. In the British Medical Journal from 1880, there is an article of a few incidences of Diphtheria where those infected with the bacteria had drinking wells that were unclean and had drainage leaks that fed into the drinking well. There was also an outbreak in 1880 New York in a building along the river front that during the tides, water would seep into the basement area then back out again. The health department finally closed the building due to tenants getting Diphtheria. in spite of the drinking water connection to outbreaks and cases of the past, it is claimed that this bacteria can be spread by intimate contact or by airborne particles from an infected carrier coughing or sneezing.
Despite the knowledge of sanitation, during the 1920’s there was another major outbreak, even though sanitation and water treatment had begun, this new health treatment was in it’s infancy. In modern day, Diphtheria is nearly non existent in the United States with about 1 case per year, (see resources – wrong Diagnosis). It is difficult to find actual statistics and equate them with many changes between 1920 and 1975, while the vaccine industry claims it’s victory over another yet deadly villain there are many other things to take into consideration like improvements in sanitation and water supplies.
Diphtheria is a bacteria. Once you get it, you are not immune, you can be exposed to it again and get it again. Here in lies the dilemma, if you cannot develop an immunity then what does a vaccine do to protect you? In the United States, we have some of the cleanest water that has been treated with Chlorine, the all powerful anti-bacterial agent, our sewage is moved away from water supplies, our homes are cleaner and we have disinfectants to clean with. World Wide we have the WHO, (the World Health Organization), who regularly travels to provide vaccines for people of the third world countries, yet when the Soviet Union broke up, there were outbreaks of 150,000 in the newly formed Soviet states, and some third world countries are still plagued with Diphtheria.
The evidence suggests that it is not really the vaccine that has all but eliminated diphtheria, although it may have helped during a time of interim, but rather it may be the sanitation practices of the culture and country. Diphtheria is a bacteria, and cleanliness and good health practice are the best defense against any bacteria. Small amounts of exposure to Diphtheria do not cause the disease, similar to other micro-organisms that may be present in the body at any given time without repercussions. In other words, if you are drinking diphtheria laden water you are likely to get it and with the weakened immune systems of todays vaccinated youth, they would probably be even more susceptible.
Another piece of evidence of this is that they say in order to prevent the re-emergence of Diphtheria in the United States that it is important for children and adults alike get revaccinated against diphtheria, but with the exception of a recent push to increase the number of vaccines children receive, since the 1960’s there are probably less than 1% of all adults get vaccinated for it, and before the 1980’s children were basically vaccinated only once, yet the incidence of diphtheria has not raised its ugly head in outbreaks, if it does I would suspect foul play. If Diphtheria were as contagious as it is said to be, then one case per year typically would not make sense. Adults by and large do not get DPT boosters, therefore it isn’t likely that one person would get Diphtheria and not begin an outbreak at least once in ten years or so.
If you read my article on the DTaP vaccine ingredients, and the references to those ingredients one would have to re-assess the benefits to risks ratio. It isn’t likely as long as you are clean and have a clean water supply that anyone in your family would get Diphtheria but the vaccine is full of toxic chemicals that should be disposed of according to EPA guidelines.
The history of Diphtheria, like many vaccines, this one was introduced after an increase in understanding the source and a major decline in the disease.
http://www.medicinenet.com/diphtheria/article.htm
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Diphtheria_-_History/id/1327218
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphtheria
http://www.dhpe.org/infect/dip.html
Wrong Diagnosis
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/d/diphtheria/prevalence.htm
British Medical Journal
New York Time’s 1880
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to give medical advice. It is a call to educate yourself so that in making a decision where your child is concerned, you should take an active role in learning all you can from medical experts on both sides of the fence, then make an educated decision. we did not make an informed decision until one son got Leukemia and another developed Autism immediately after receiving his MMR vaccine. This has sent us on a quest to inform ourselves and others to seriously question what kind of toxic soups are being injected with the vaccines. Odds are if your child is injured by a vaccine, you have little or no recompense against the industry.
